Statistics Netherlands

Approximately 13.5 million residents of the Netherlands are eligible to vote in the European Parliament elections next week. 3.6 percent of this group do not have Dutch nationality, but are EU citizens, Statistics Netherlands reported on Friday based on population figures from 1 January 2019.

The Dutch economy grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019, the same growth as in the last quarter of 2018, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. Compared to the first quarter of 2018, the economy grew by 1.7 percent.

Adjusted for the number of days - the first quarter of 2019 had one day less than the first quarter of 2018 - economic growth amounted to 1.9 percent. In the first quarter of last year, the economic growth stood at 2.2 percent compared to a year earlier.

The tension on the Dutch labor market reached a new peak in the first quarter of this year. The number of vacancies increased, while the number of unemployed declined, Statistics Netherlands reports. In the first quarter there were on average 88 vacancies per 100 unemployed, compared to 80 vacancies in the fourth quarter of last year.

The Dutch people in their twenties of today are hitting milestones later than their peers from a decade ago. Last year's 20-somethings left home later, studied longer, were less likely to have permanent employment, bought their own home later, moved in with a partner later, and also started a family later than the 20-somethings of 2008, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.

On January 1st the Netherlands counted nearly 45 thousand fully electric cars, double the number on January 1st last year. The number of plug-in hybrids decreased by 3 percent over the past year to nearly 94 thousand, Statistics Netherlands reported based on license plate registrations at RDW.

The Netherlands is the furthest away from achieving its renewable energy goals of any European Union country, Statistics Netherlands concluded in a comparative study between the Netherlands and other EU Member States. In 2017, only 6.6 percent of all energy generated in the Netherlands came from renewable sources, RTL Nieuws reports.

Industrial companies with a higher quality of management perform better - they have higher productivity and more international activities than companies with lower quality management, according to a study done by the University of Groningen and Statistics Netherlands at the request of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.

The wealth inequality between Dutch households decreased since 2015. That has to do with the improving housing market, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday based on data from 2011 to 2017. Income inequality remained at basically the same level in that period.

A total of 428 thousand Dutch children and young people up to the age of 23 were assisted by youth care in some way last year. That is nearly 1 in 10 of all Dutch aged 23 and younger. In 2017 youth care assisted 420 thousand kids and young people, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday based on provisional figures.

The average selling price of existing owner-occupied homes in the Netherlands amounted to 302,845 euors in March. That is 7.7 percent higher than in March 2018, and the highest level in Dutch history, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Tuesday.

Compared to the low point on the housing market in June 2013, prices for existing owner-occupied homes were 36.1 percent higher in March. Home prices have been climbing consistently ever since the low point on the market. In May 2018, prices for the first time reached above the record level in August 2008.

Last year 678 people died in traffic accidents in the Netherlands, 65 more than in 2017. This is the largest increase in the number of traffic deaths since 1989, Statistics Netherlands reports. Noord-Brabant had the biggest increase, from 98 traffic deaths in 2017 to 150 last year.

The Dutch economy, measured by gross domestic product, grew by 2.7 percent last year. That is somewhat less growth than in 2017, when the highest economic growth since the financial crisis was achieved, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.

As in previous years, the economic growth in 2018 was largely due to increased employment. Household consumption contributed most to the economic growth last year. Investments in fixed assets also made a larger contribution. In previous years, foreign trade was the driving force behind the economic growth.

Last year 28 percent of all employees in the Netherlands often or always received so much information in a working day that they had difficulty processing it quickly enough. In 2014 it was 25 percent, according to a study by Statistics Netherlands and TNO.

Employees who experience information overload are more often dissatisfied with their working conditions and have a stronger desire to leave their current employer and find a new job, according to the study.

Last year 15.8 percent of children and young people, between the ages of 2 and 25, were overweight, compared to 12.5 percent in 2000. A quarter of young adults, aged between 18 and 25, were overweight, Statistics Netherlands reported on Wednesday.

The housing ratio - the total housing costs as a percentage of disposable income - was higher for tenants in the Netherlands than for homeowners last year. Tenants spent an average of 38.1 percent of their disposable income on housing costs, while homeowners spent an average of 29 percent, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

The vast majority of Dutch people are satisfied with their lives, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. Only 2 percent of Dutch are downright negative about their lives, 12 percent are neutral and the rest are more or less satisfied. There is no remarkable difference between how men and women in the Netherlands consider their lives.

The number of passengers traveling through the five Dutch airports keeps growing. In all of last year a total of 79.6 million people traveled through the airports in the Netherlands, 4.5 percent more than in 2017, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.

The number of Dutch adults who smoke and drink are slowly decreasing, but the number of overweight people in the Netherlands is still stable, according to the Health Survey and Lifestyle Monitor for 2018 by Statistics Netherlands and public health service RIVM. Last year 50 percent of Dutch were overweight, 22.4 percent smoked at least sometimes, and 9 percent were heavy drinkers, NU.nl reports.

Over a fifth of people who fell victim to home burglary in 2017 were burgled again within a year, according to the 2017 Security Monitor by Statistics Netherlands. The chance of burglars targeting the same home more than once is greatest in cities, RTL Nieuws reports.

In 2017 two percent of the Dutch population, around 287 thousand people fell victim to a burglary or attempted burglary. For over 75 percent of the victims this only happened once, 15 percent had two burglaries, and 7 percent had three or more burglaries.

The Netherlands booked a trade deficit in natural gas for the first time ever last year, Statistics Netherlands reports based on provisional figures. In 2018 a total of 12 billion euros of natural gas was imported, while the export amounted to 9.8 billion euros. The trade deficit thus amounted to 2.1 billion euros.

Between 2007 and 2015 a total of 4.5 million euros in donations were made each year in the Netherlands. 80 percent of donors came from the top 20 percent wealthiest Dutch households. And in nearly half of the cases, the money ended up with someone else in this same group. 90 percent of donations went from parent to child, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.

Of all working people in the Netherlands, freelancers are most often at risk of dropping below the poverty line, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. In 2017 the percentage of freelancers - self-employed persons with no employees - at risk of earning less than they need increased, while the number of employees at risk of poverty has been decreasing for years.

The average selling price for a home in the Netherlands surpassed the 300 thousand euros mark for the first time in history. In January homes exchanged owners for an average of 302,157 euros, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Tuesday.

Compared to January last year, the price for an owner occupied home increased by 8.7 percent. The housing price increase is picking up. In December homes were 8.4 percent more expensive than the same month the year before.

The confidence of Dutch consumers is negative for the first time in four years. Both consumers' opinion of the economic climate and their willingness to buy declined somewhat, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Wednesday.

In February consumer confidence stood at -2, compared to 1 in January. Consumers are less positive about the economy than in January, with the economic sub-indicator falling from 3 to 1. Dutch consumers are also more negative about their financial situation, and therefore less willing to make large purchases, according to the stats office.